Just Trust - Martin Wiles

Series: The Things We Say

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 NLT

Just trust God, and everything will work out for the good.

The Porters were college friends we had a common bond with: we were both from South Carolina. They also had two children who were close in age to our two. One of which was our daughter’s “boyfriend.” 

As so often happens, we lost track of them after graduation. Several years later, I received devastating news: their daughter had been killed. She was riding a bicycle—which was a little too large for her, rolled into the path of an oncoming truck, was struck, and died from the impact. 

Our family was stunned…and heartbroken. When I called to express my sympathies, the mom—with a broken voice, said, “We’re just trusting God to get us through this.” 

I’ve heard enough religious platitudes in my lifetime to fill a small book. Some of them biblical, some of them not. Some well-timed, some ill-timed. Telling someone to trust God and everything will work out for the good happens to be true. How, when, and where I say it should be carefully considered. 

Everything that comes into my life won’t be good. 

I’ve also experienced enough regretful things to fill a book. Actually, they have. Several, in fact. Having good things happen continuously wouldn’t necessarily cause me to trust God more. When things go well all the time, I have a tendency to trust myself instead of God. Bad things turn my focus on Him. Some turn a bitter focus, but others—myself included, turn a longing focus. A longing to know why and a longing to know how I should respond. 

As I look back on the unfortunate things I’ve experienced, I also see how God brought good from them. The lessons I learned when I responded correctly are innumerable. My trust level in God rose as did my degree of faith. Since the consequences of bad events tend to hang around—sometimes for years, I’ve been able to continually see God bringing good things from bad circumstances. 

God is a good God who wants His children to experience good things—even if they have to come through unpleasant circumstances.

Trust God to manufacture good out of the bad times in your life. 

Prayer: Father, we have faith that You will turn the bad in our life into good that will spur us on to spiritual growth and bring glory to Your name. 

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Throwback Tuesday - Who Is Jesus? - Martin Wiles

Who Is Jesus?

“Who am I?” I considered it when an adolescent. Most teenagers do.

Psychologist Erik Erikson coined the term “identity crisis,” and defined it as failure to achieve ego identity during adolescence. During the Identity Cohesion versus Role Confusion psychological stage, physical growth and sexual maturation occur as well as ideas about ourselves and what others think of us. Solving the crisis enhances our self-image, but failing to lets the “Who am I” question hang on beyond adolescence. Struggles to “find ourselves” can create a negative identity involving crime, drug use, and the inability to make decisions about the future. Read more...

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The Unpardonable Sin - Martin Wiles

Series: The Things We Say

So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. Matthew 12:31 NLT

For Hester Prynne in Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, it was an A; for many others, it is a D. 

In a Puritanical time period, Hester Prynne made the mistake of having a sexual relationship outside of marriage and getting pregnant. She was condemned, ostracized, and forced to wear a scarlet letter, A, on her breast. 

When I was growing up, adultery wasn’t looked favorably upon either by most of the culture, particularly in the Bible Belt. But there was another sin that was equally looked upon with disfavor: divorce. Even most who were not of the religious persuasion thought two married people should stay together through thick and thin. Those who didn’t—for whatever reason, were treated almost like Hester Prynne. 

In church life—which I knew a lot about, the divorced were looked upon differently. They may have been allowed to join the church—after all, they surely needed Jesus since they’d been divorced, but they were allowed to do little else. Teaching, preaching, serving as a deacon, working with children. These were all out of the question. The church was glad to have their money, but wanted little else from them. They had committed what many believed was the unpardonable sin.

Interestingly, divorce is not what Jesus classifies as the unpardonable sin. 

He had strong words for those who attributed His work to Satan—and told them blasphemy (unbelief) could not be forgiven, but He never said the same about divorce. In the Old Testament, God said He hated divorce, but He never said it was unforgivable. 

Divorce is detrimental. While some choose it, others have it thrust upon them regardless of what they want. Its sad effects meander through families, churches, and nations. But it isn’t the unforgivable sin. 

The Bible is filled with examples of God using people with all types of issues in their backgrounds—murder included. If God can use murderers like David and Paul, surely He can use someone who has been divorced. 

Telling or implying that someone is unusable because they have been divorced is as sinful as the sin they claim the divorced person has committed. God is in the business of restoration. 

Don’t allow anything in your past to keep you from being used by God.

Prayer: Father, may we allow You to use our past instead of letting our past imprison us. 

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